Are you ready for growth on purpose? Welcome to The Marketing Accelerator Podcast, featuring three insights in about three minutes. I'm Drew Dinkelacker, and today I'm speaking with Claire Chandler. She is the Chief Experience Officer at Talent Boost and has just released a new book called "Growth On Purpose." Claire, your new book identifies the four A's: Aspiration, Awareness, Acceleration, and Alignment. As much as I would love to dive into acceleration, I really want to know more about awareness. As a business leader, what do I have to be most aware of for growth on purpose?

Claire Chandler: The key to growth is growing from the inside out, individually and organizationally. And so, as a leader, it is exceptionally important that you are deeply attuned to and self-aware of what it is that drives you, what you're naturally talented at, and - just as important - what your blind spots are. I'll give you an example. Everybody has been in those meetings where you've got that one guy who raises his hand at the end and asks the question that is completely tone-deaf, right? It's completely not the right time, not the right place to ask the question. And everyone around him is kind of thinking, "Dude, read the room." That is a clear example of somebody not playing to their strength and actually having a blind spot around empathy, which is the ability, or in this case, inability to read the room.

Drew: Okay, so let's say I have a good dose of self-awareness. What's next?

Claire: So now, two things. You want to make sure that you play in that fast lane, right? Once you're aware of what you're naturally talented at, spend as much time as possible in that zone of genius or in that fast lane. And equally important, you want to be aware of and minimize your interaction with your blind spots. So, example, if you're a visionary high-ranking executive leader, and part of your role, and coincidentally, hopefully part of your strength, is setting a strategic horizon and being fixed on that: that's where your focus needs to be. You need to be setting your sights on the horizon and bringing people along with you. You can't afford to be the person who dips into problem-solving. Your job is to surround yourself with people who can balance out your perspective, so you can stay focused on the big picture.

Drew: So, now I'm aware of what drives me and where my blind spots live. How do I make these work for growth?

Claire: You want to do that for yourself and as many people in your team as possible. Put them in their fast lanes and help them minimize their blind spots. You also want to make sure you feed your motivators, individually and among your team. We all are rewarded internally by different things. For example, I'm rewarded when I get to learn something. When I get to try something new, when I acquire knowledge, I soak it up like a sponge. And that fuels me. That makes me energized. And, the more people can do the things that help you motivate and feed those motivators for them uniquely, they're going to be more fulfilled, more engaged, more productive, and happier employees.

Drew: For business and marketing leaders, self-awareness is just one of the four A's to consider for growth on purpose. The Marketing Accelerator Podcast is a production of MarketingAccelerator.com, where we accelerate marketing and business leaders to higher performance and increase job satisfaction. I'm Drew Dinkelacker.